Misleading
by Esprit D'escalier
Summary: A young boy and an older girl who have never got to experience their childhood sit on the beach discussing the complications behind their age. Together the two of them ponder the possibility of ever finding someone who can understand them.


Well, my second story uploaded this year. My goal was to make 12 updates by the end of this year. To say I'm behind is an understatement.

About this story: I've had this started for a while, but I never really got around to it. I just thought the pairing was a cute idea, and I wish there was more interaction between the two in the game. This particular one-shot was inspired by the after-battle skit where Emil tells Marta that he was staying near Presea in battle because she's so tiny and he's worried about her.

I feel there's a lot of things I could have added to this. Originally I was going to spend a lot of time describing the negative outcomes of Emil and Presea's situations, but I decided instead to go for a more light hearted fluff approach instead (Perhaps because I'm already working on a rather depressing fic for Symphonia).

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><p>Emil sat on the shore of the Altamira resort beach. His journey was finally finished and Regal had taken the entire group here for a long deserved vacation. Emil had never been to a resort beach like this before. Well, in his memories, he'd been at the beach all the time with "his family"… He'd lived there, even. In reality, though, he'd never actually lived at Palmacosta at all.<p>

Emil stuck his right foot out to where the water reached, and shuddered slightly when the waves came and hit his toes. It was a weird sensation, and the cold didn't make it too enjoyable. Not that he meant that it was bad or anything… he sort of liked it, even. It was just a new feeling.

He wondered what the others were up to. They'd all worked hard along the journey. Harder than him, most likely. A lot of the time he felt like dead weight. They were probably enjoying their vacation by sleeping.

Emil stared out across the water. He could see the lights of a Ferris wheel in the distance, and he wondered if anyone was actually on it at this time in the evening. Regal said it was quite popular for couples to go there at night, but with all the chaos the world had been in lately, it felt like it wasn't the right time for a Ferris wheel ride. Then again, that was probably just him. To everyone else, the world probably seemed like it'd always been completely normal.

A shadow cast itself over him, barely noticeable in the darkness of the evening. It brought Emil out of though though, and he looked behind him to see the figure of a small girl.

"Oh hey Presea, what are you doing here?"

"I came to see the water at the beach."

"Oh. Same here."

"I see we have a common interest then."

"Um, yeah. I guess."

Presea stared out across the waves with an unwavering gaze. Emil, however, stared at her. He wondered what she was thinking about. It was always so hard to tell with her.

After a minute or so of neither of them speaking, Emil felt really awkward. He had no idea what to say though. "Y-you can sit down if you like!"

"Okay." The girl moved forward a bit and sat down beside him. Emil let out a small sigh, proud that he had been able to get her to say something. It felt like a bit of an accomplishment, even.

In the light of the evening she looked even paler than usual. The girl had always seemed so delicate and fragile, perhaps like him in quite a few ways… Though, in battle she proved herself to not be as gentle as she seemed. Sometimes the battles turned out awkward, though, as when Emil had first met Presea, he'd always felt the need to protect her in battle. She was just so small… he found it hard to believe she could protect herself. Hence often times he would stick near her in battle to make sure she didn't get surrounded by enemies. This usually turned out to be more hazardous than helpful though, and a lot of the time he found Marta saving him from getting hit by an enemy from behind while he was busy trying to protect a girl who didn't even need help. It was rather embarrassing… Yet he'd done it multiple times.

Emil shook his head. Why did he always have to think about embarrassing moments so much?

"So, do you like the beach, Presea?"

"I don't know." Her voice was rather monotonous, leaving Emil confused as to what she meant by her statement. She actually sounded genuinely unsure. He decided not to pester her about it though.

"Do you like beaches, Emil?"

"Well, to be honest, this is my first time at one." Emil looked away from Presea. He felt rather pathetic admitting it out loud. What sort of boy from Palmacosta had never been to a beach?

"You've never been to one before?"

"Well, I have memories of fun at the beach… but after I found out all my memories were fake I realized that I had never really been to a beach before. It was all fake." Emil rubbed the back of his head. "It must sound stupid. I'm 16 and I've never been to a beach before."

"It's not stupid. My first time at a beach was only two years ago."

Emil looked up at her curiously. "Really? You're 14, right? So you would have been twelve. Hm… I guess not having been to a beach until you were 12 is kinda bad too."

"I'm sure Raine and the others have mentioned it before, but I am older than I look you know."

"You keep on saying that but I still have no idea how old you are or what you mean by that."

"This exsphere here was implemented for an experiment. It stopped my growth for many years." Presea rested two small fingers on the gem on her neck. "Therefore I am actually older than I appear." Emil didn't mention that he'd thought it was a necklace…

"For many years, huh? So you're more about my age then?"

"No. Much older than that."

"Hm… 20?"

"I am truly thirty years old."

"Whoa, seriously? I never knew."

"I'll understand if you don't believe me. It is a rather unbelievable story."

"No, I believe you."

"Truly?"

"Of course. You've never lied to me before."

Emil looked down at the sand. Here he had been worried about protecting her because he had thought she was fragile, and she was probably thinking he was just getting in her way.

"I don't feel like I'm thirty though. I still feel as if I am fourteen years old. Not only did my body stop aging, but I don't remember anything from the time that I was under the control of the exsphere. It makes me wonder what I can call myself. I don't think I can truly call myself thirty when I never developed at all – physically or mentally- during that time. But I'm not really fourteen either, and it would be a lie to say so." It was the first time Presea had initiated speech in their entire conversation, and Emil wondered if this was her version of being "talkative."

"Oh... I think I understand. I wonder how that applies to me then. I was only made a few months ago... but I don't quite feel like a few months old baby."

"I'd have to say you are a special case too. You are in the body of a sixteen year old, but your mind is still young, yet you are mature. I'd say you're like me then. Even if I am thirty years old, I say that I am only 14. And while you may say you are sixteen, you know that you are truly still young."

"That just confuses me even further. Does that mean I'll have to wait fifteen years to date anyone without them being considered a pedophile?"

"That is an amusing thought."

"You really think so?"

"Yes."

"Okay, if you say so." Emil played with the sand in front of him. He had meant the question seriously, but he had no idea if her answer was serious or not. Did Presea even tell jokes?

"I think you'll just need to find someone of the same maturity of you. You need someone who understands your story and who you are. Then there will be no problems regardless of your age."

"That sounds hard."

"I'm sure it won't be that hard."

"Who's going to understand that I'm sixteen years old but really only a few months because I was created by a tree spirit?"

"Well, I understand it."

"Yeah, but you've been through the same thing as me. I doubt many others would understand it."

"Yes, that is true. Many people still do not understand what I have gone through. I only tell people that I think will understand."

"Oh, so you thought I would understand then?"

"Yes, you are a very understanding person Emil."

"Oh." Emil blushed slightly. "Th-thanks, Presea. I'm shocked you think of me that way. I got the impression from Marta and Tenebrae that I was oblivious to a lot of things."

"I don't think so at all."

"Well… thank you." Why did he get flustered so easily? It made the situation even more awkward, which made him get flustered even more, and now it was hard to even look her in the eye. If he could only stop thinking about it then he could stop!

The two sat in silence for a bit, and once Emil had calmed down he realized that Presea probably wouldn't say anything else unless he spoke first.

"So…"

"So what?"

"I don't know."

"Okay."

Well, that was a failure…

"I just don't know if anyone would ever accept me. I mean, I'm technically not even a year old, even though I have the mind of a 16 year old."

"I'm in the same situation. What person my age would accept me if they found out I was truly thirty?"

"I'd accept you. You're mature and smart and cute."

"Thank you, Emil. I'd accept you too"

"Oh, really?"

"Of course."

"Oh." This conversation was making him get more and more flustered. Did she truly mean that? What _did_ she mean by that? He was so confused right now…

Did she mean…? Maybe…? He had no idea. Maybe he should ask…

"S-so th-then… So then, if you accept me and I accept you… then why don't we… I mean… We could…" Emil gave up trying to speak and just let his head hang. "I'm sorry." He was being ridiculous. She was just being nice to him. She didn't mean anything by it.

"Then why don't we what, Emil?"

"It's nothing."

"I'm curious."

Emil took a deep breath in and let it all out at once: "Why don't we… you know… accept each other."

Presea looked at him straight in the eye, and he desperately wanted to look away. But at the same time, her gaze appeared different somehow. Perhaps… she looked confused?

"Do you really mean that?"

"Yes. I mean… why not? We both understand each other… and I think you're nice… and I hope you think I'm nice too."

"You are nice, Emil."

"Oh, thank-thank you." Emil wished he could stop stuttering, or at least so often. Were they talking about the same thing here? He could barely tell. It felt like they were talking in code or something.

"Then I will accept you Emil."

Emil felt a cold touch on his hand, and he looked down, half expecting for the waves to have rushed over it. Instead, he found a small hand on top of his. He followed the length of the arm until he was facing the girl directly. And that's when he saw it.

There was the faintest trace of a smile on her face.

"I'll accept you too, Presea."

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><p>Thank you for reading, and I hope you were able to enjoy it. Remember, authors always appreciate reviews. If you've made it to the end of the story, it doesn't take long to make someone feel appreciated. (Or leave criticism, your choice).<p> 


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